More Ramblings...Hey, that's what a blog's for!

Not too much has been going on in Rosie Land. The Picovoli. For some reason the Picovoli, she was sllooooowww going during the early part of the week. I do a large part of my knitting on the train on the way home. I have a 45 minute commute so it’s a good chunk of time in the morning and afternoon. And normally I physically knit very fast. I’m not saying I zip through projects but once I get a groove going, I’m actually pretty fast. I’m sure you know what I mean. But this week, I just couldn’t get my hands to zip along as they normally do. I didn’t know what was up. I’m not bored with the thing. I’m actually really enjoying the pattern. As I said before, knitting from the top down is new to me and I am delighting in seeing the whole thing come together. But my mind and hands wouldn’t marry long enough for me to get a decent dent in the thing. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get into “the zone”. Thankfully, this went away this morning and I seem to be back on track.

I was reading Yarn Harlot’s Yoga post and it very much speaks to the story of me and my crafting not to mention the name of this blog. So I thought I would use this opportunity to explain in part how knitting gives me a more rosy view of life. As I said, I’m a pretty fast knitter. That’s not true of ANYTHING else I do. I want everything to be perfect which is ALWAYS my downfall. Something in my brain refuses to believe that perfection is unattainable so I go on slow and steady until I’m so frustrated I just give up. Not so with crafting. I get into this place and there’s lots of trial and error. Sometimes I get ticked off fold and wrap and put something a project away. I do this slowly and methodically so as not to rip the thing to shreds or throw it over DH’s head. But for the most part, I just sigh and start over again. The creative process, particularly when it comes to fiber, is so gratifying. It stimulates so many of the senses at the same time. Different fibers and their various blends passing through your fingers can be soothing or energizing. The clicking of the needles has a calmative effect. And if you haven’t sniffed yarn yet, I suggest you give it a try. I know some people don't like the smell of some cotton/cotton blends but I find them comforting. Don't ask me why. That's another one of those beautiful things about being a fiber dork. I can be as dorky as I wanna be. Now I haven’t licked fiber for obvious reasons (I mean I do have to stop somewhere) but I’m sure someone out there can relate knitting or spinning to taste.

Even when I’m winding a skein of yarn into a ball, I flip on some relaxing music and just allow the yarn to run over and under my fingers and I’m actually having fun. And it’s so exciting to see the colors or the knitted/crocheted items themselves come together. On my daily commute, I used to just kind of trudge my way from the station to my building and back stuck in my own head. I would be focused on getting to work or getting the heck out. Now I find myself looking up and around at everything, seeing the possible stitch patterns or the dyeing possibilities. I see more, I take in more. It’s amazing how much of life you can miss while living. It’s amazing how much more life knitting forces me to pay attention to. It’s honestly like seeing the world for the first time. Crafting helps pull me from the hamster wheel of life. Sometimes I am disheartened because I can’t knit something like Picovoli in a week’s time. But I enjoy the process so much, in the end, it doesn’t matter. In any other area of my life, the Houglass TentI mean the Hourglass Sweater would’ve been a disaster. But I was able to see the positive aspects and laugh the rest off. I admit, sometimes I get frustrated that I am still a newbie and make newbie mistakes. I wonder when I’ll be able to get a cable just right without having to rip out so many times that the yarn starts to get fuzzy. I wonder when I’ll be able to spin a perfectly balanced yarn. I wonder when I’ll be able to bend wire so that my bracelets don’t have kinks in them. But this process is for me. Even when I’m making something for someone else, it’s for me. And I get so much from it. So deadlines and perfection don’t have a place here. I like that.

Ok. Enough waxing sentimental. I did get some spinning in unexpectedly. I got this batt at CT Sheep and Wool.

Isn’t it pretty? Kind of looks like an ocean wave.

I got the bug this week and decided to try my hand and long draw again.

It was coming out pretty inconsistently.

Every time I sat down and spun for a while, the control yarn would look a little different. Darn it! Actually, it’s not so bad. I think I’m finally getting to the point where I’m starting to get comfortable with the technique. And I have plenty of fiber to keep practicing. It’s just hard because I have this stunning merino/silk fiber I won at NETA earlier this year. It’s just sitting there, taunting me. I’m dying to spin it but it’s hardly “practice fiber. And I still have more of Mary’s Charlotte to practice with.

Well, that's it for now. Just more blah ba di blah blah blah. Site of interest this week? Well...I'm a bit behind but I just listened to Brenda Dayne's last installment of the Muse Series. Hillarious (yup, pimpin the Knitting Podcasts again) Go have a listen!